Evaluation of a Lung Ultrasound Score in Hospitalized Adult Patients with COVID-19 in Barcelona, Spain.

: During the COVID-19 pandemic and the burden on hospital resources, the rapid categorization of high-risk COVID-19 patients became essential, and lung ultrasound (LUS) emerged as an alternative to chest computed tomography, offering speed, non-ionizing, repeatable, and bedside assessments. Various LUS score systems have been used, yet there is no consensus on an optimal severity cut-off. We assessed the performance of a 12-zone LUS score to identify adult COVID-19 patients with severe lung involvement using oxygen saturation (SpO)/fractional inspired oxygen (FiO) ratio as a reference standard to define the best cut-off for predicting adverse outcomes. : We conducted a single-centre prospective study (August 2020-April 2021) at Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain. Upon admission to the general ward or intensive care unit (ICU), clinicians performed LUS in adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia. Severe lung involvement was defined as a SpO/FiO ratio